Batch Creation via Retractable Conveyor Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
The food industry faces challenges in automating the packaging of meat products, such as pork chops, due to difficulties in handling and arranging individual pieces accurately and efficiently, leading to wastage and incomplete batches caused by off-cuts and quality control rejections.
Innovation Solution
A system that includes a source controller and a combiner using a retractable conveyor to align and combine partial and remainder batches, with electronic labeling to distinguish non-batch items, allowing for the creation of full batches without manual intervention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If individual items are placed manually on trays to ensure correct arrangement and remove off-cuts, then packaging quality and presentation are improved, but labor intensity and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses electronic labels and automatic detection to identify and sort items, allowing the packaging system to self-regulate the arrangement and removal of off-cuts without manual intervention. The controller automatically manages the batching process based on detected item characteristics.
Solution Approach 2:
Manual mechanical sorting and arrangement is replaced by an automated system using electronic labels, optical detection, and controlled conveyor mechanisms to achieve precise arrangement and automatic removal of unsuitable items.
2Shape
If a retractable conveyor is used to load items onto trays one at a time from different positions, then overlapping arrangement is achieved, but the process is slow and items must be added individually
Solution Approach 1:
Items are pre-grouped into batches of the correct number before being loaded onto the tray. The system detects and forms complete batches in advance, then loads them as units rather than adding items one at a time, significantly increasing packaging speed while maintaining the overlapping arrangement.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple items that form a complete batch are combined and loaded onto the tray together as a single unit. This merging of loading operations maintains the desired overlapping arrangement while dramatically improving packaging throughput.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the conveyor is programmed to place a fixed number of pieces in a tray, then batch consistency is maintained, but incomplete batches must be rejected wasting production capacity
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously detects items and their characteristics, providing feedback to the controller to dynamically adjust batch formation. This allows the system to identify complete batches even when item flow is irregular, preventing rejection of potentially usable items and reducing wastage while maintaining batch consistency.
Solution Approach 2:
The batch formation process is made dynamic and adaptive rather than rigidly programmed. The system can flexibly adjust to variations in item availability and automatically form complete batches when possible, converting static batch size requirements into a dynamic formation process that reduces wastage.
4Reliability
If extensive manual processing is used to identify misshapen or rejected chops, then quality control is improved, but the complexity and time of the process increase
Solution Approach 1:
Manual visual inspection and sorting is replaced by an automated detection system using electronic labels and optical sensors to identify misshapen or rejected items. The controller automatically processes detection signals to sort unsuitable items, maintaining quality control while reducing process complexity and labor requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The quality control system operates autonomously, with the detection apparatus and controller working together to automatically identify and separate rejected items without requiring manual intervention. The system self-manages the quality control function, reducing both labor and operational complexity.
Data Source
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AI summary
Apparatus, method, and system for combining a plurality of items into a batch having a set number of items. Number of items are put together onto a production line to form a batch along with non-batch items which are not suitable for inclusion within the batch onto the production line. The batch is advanced on the production line as a partial batch without the non-batch item being added to it when a batch is not complete. A reminder batch is created after the non-batch items have been added to the production line and the remainder batch includes the number of items that must be added to the partial batch to make a full batch.